Effects of pressure stimulation of the body surface on placing reactions

The effects of pressure stimulation of the body surface on placing reactions were investigated in intact unanesthetized cats. A slight contact applied to the dorsum of the fore- and hindpaws produced the typical placing reactions in these preparations. These reflexes, however, became more prominent if, in addition to the exteroceptive input, a proprioceptive input was elicited after plantar flexion of the paws. Slight pressure applied to the upper part of the body greatly depressed not only tactile placing reactions, but also to a lesser extent proprioceptive placing reactions. Moreover, these reflexes were less prominent and more sluggish and fatiguable than in the normal cats. The depression of the placing reactions elicited by the cutaneous input during pressure applied to the body surface mainly affected the forelimbs. However, as soon as the pressure stimulation was removed, the placing reactions reappeared or became as prominent as usual. We postulate that the exteroceptive input resulting from body pressure decreased the placing reactions by exciting the Purkinje cells of the intermediate cortex of the cerebellum, which are in turn inhibitory on the interpositus nucleus, thus reducing the neuronal discharge of the interpositorubrospinal pathway acting on flexor motoneurons.